“So the Lord said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’” (Exodus 4:2)

In the book of Exodus, after 40 years of exile and tending sheep in the desert, we read about Moses’ encounter with God through a burning bush.

Moses had fled Egypt 40 years before this encounter because he murdered an Egyptian who was unlawfully beating one of Moses’ fellow Israelites. Upon realizing Pharaoh had discovered what he had done, Moses fled. However, during this encounter with God through the burning bush, God calls Moses back to Egypt to help set His people free from the bondage of slavery. In response, Moses tells God why God should not use him – four times, in fact!

To demonstrate God’s power to Moses during the encounter, God asks him, “What is that in your hand?” To which Moses responds, “A rod.” God then tells Moses to throw the rod on the ground, and when he does, the rod miraculously becomes a snake. Afterward, God instructs Moses to pick up the snake by the tail, and when he does, it miraculously returns to being a rod. God was trying to show Moses that he could accomplish anything God would call him to do if he trusted and obeyed Him.

Moses’ “rod” was a simple shepherd’s staff that he used in his everyday life to do the work of a shepherd. There was nothing special about that rod. It had no magical or miraculous powers in and of itself. Instead, God wanted Moses to understand that whatever Moses had and was willing to surrender to God, God could and would use to accomplish His perfect plan and purpose.

As with Moses, God desires to use whatever is in our hands to accomplish His perfect plan and will through our lives.

God is asking each of us, “What is in your hand, Christian? What are you willing to give me that I can use to point people to My Son Jesus?” Maybe we have a testimony of salvation that we can share with a family member, a co-worker, or even a stranger? God promises He will give us the words we need if we are willing to share.

At one point during Moses’ encounter with God, he professed to God that he was not “eloquent” and that he was “… slow of speech and tongue” (Exodus 4:10). God responded by telling Moses that He (God) made his mouth and would give Moses every word he needed when he needed it. We are also reminded of that truth in the new testament, in the book of Luke (Luke 12:12).

If we have been recipients of God’s grace and mercy in our lives, should we not also be willing to share those experiences with others? What about our time, talents and treasure? Are we willing to share those things with others so they, too, might experience the grace and mercy of God through us? It is never the amount we give to God that matters. It is our willingness to give Him whatever we have.

The great 16th century reformer Martin Luther said, “I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.” What is in your hand, my friend? No matter how insignificant you may think it is, if you submit it to God with a desire to honor and please Him and ask Him to use it for His glory, He will.

And who knows that your offering, your story, whatever you place in God’s hands, might be the “rod” God uses to help free someone else from the bondage of slavery to sin.

Lisa Hannan lives in Valdosta with her husband, attorney Miles Hannan, who has been practicing law in Valdosta for more than 30 years. She has a B.S. in psychology from Valdosta State University. You can find her at www.lisahannan.org.